NMC Upward Bound Program Awarded $1.25 Million Grant

Date: June 11, 2012

(OMAHA)- Nebraska Methodist College-The Josie Harper Campus (NMC) Upward Bound Program has been awarded a $1.25 million grant by the United States Department of Education. NMC, which first received funding for the program in 2007, received $250,000 a year for five years.

Upward Bound was authorized under the Higher Education Act of 1965 and amended by the Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008. Through tutoring and mentoring, Upward Bound attempts to increase rates at which its participants complete high school, as well as instill the skills and motivation necessary to enroll in, and graduate from, a post-secondary education program.

"To accomplish the goals of Upward Bound, we have partnered with Burke High School and St. Luke United Methodist Church Teen Center to provide tutoring, mentoring, college preparation courses, college visits and a six-week summer program," said Allison Kinney-Walker, manager of the Upward Bound program. "Our program has been extremely successful. We are at our capacity of 50 students with a waiting list. And, the average GPA of our participants is 3.0."

Upward Bound program participants must be first-generation college students, low-income individuals, or individuals who have a high-risk for academic failure and has a need for academic support in order to pursue successfully a program of education beyond high school.